A New Life
by VanillaEmber
Summary: Sesshomaru, awaiting the birth of his second child, takes a stroll with his firstborn son to calm his thoughts and reflect on his past. Unbeknownst to him, his son stumbles upon an item that sets spark to a long tale of personal growth and enlightenment.
1. Limbo

Author's Note:

This is my first fanfic in over 6 years and so I decided to jump right back in with something that will hopefully consume your minds like it has mine. The plot is loosely based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, of which I have read in both English and the original Italian dialect it was written in. The story is an omniscient point of view whereas the tale there in is expressed in Sesshomaru's point of view as he guides us through his version of the Divina Commedia. Sesshomaru is not Christian in this story, rather uses Christian concepts as prompts.

I do not own Inuyasha or the Divine Comedy.

•

Chapter 1: Limbo

The limits of the human body is a fearful yet realistic notion that consumes many. Heated too high, the body will be inflamed within their own flesh only to perish woefully. Cooled too low and said human body will then quietly wither away to a slow death. Lack of food and water will cause the body to painfully and exhaustingly crumble. Whereas too much of the same, overindulging, will only lead at one point to engorgement of the body to the point of disease, and perhaps death. This along other factors, communicable diseases and violence as such, leaves the human body a wonder to behold. The fragility of the human body, whether under duress or improper care, is something that not only intrigued him, but made him cautious all at once.

Sesshomaru quietly turned his head back to the lush forest behind him. To the right, his son stumbled upon the cliffs his father so often retreated to. The noise, abrupt and loud, had alerted him to his son's return. Sesshomaru tipped his head slightly and instantly a look of intrigue crossed through his eyes.

Standing there looking faintly amused, was his son, of standard height for a demon roughly 8 decades old, holding a strange new item. And while his moonlit hair and shining golden eyes gave a hint of knowing, his mystified gaze was focused on the object in his hands. This prompted Sesshomaru into questioning where his young heir had disappeared off to, and how he came into possession of said object. The youthful inu looked at his father, towering and powerful as always, and in a vibrant voice responded clearly.

"I found a building not far from here," he began, still looking faintly amused. "Rectangular in shape with a dome in the center and tall, oddly painted windows." He then gave a tiny clear of his throat as to appear somewhat bashful before continuing. "I did not mean to intrude, father, but it was empty and quiet, so I went inside to look. I found this on the ground and couldn't quite tell what it was." He held up the item in question in front of him so he could show his father.

"That, my son, is a cross." Came Sesshomaru's sullen response. "It is an object with deep meaning behind it belonging to the people of the Christian faith, for which they use to represent their God. The son, is said, to be the one laying upon it, carved into the same wood." He continued. The young demon furrowed his brow as he stared at the cross, deep in thought. His parents had indeed, informed him of certain topics regarding religion, but being more knowledgeable of 'eastern' religions, as his wise mother had once put it, he had not recognized it as a symbol of Christianity.

Sesshomaru turned his head back to look over the ocean, waves swaying to and fro in their restless motion. He uttered a quick sentence and looked up at the moon, hoping the kamis would hear his words. He continued to gaze at the bright waning moon as he addressed his son once more. "If you wish, Katsuro, because we have some time yet before returning to your mother, I can briefly review the knowledge I possess about this religion." Katsuro followed the direction of his father's solid gaze to the moon far ahead, the scent of sea salt and marine life working to soothe him.

He nodded his head despite his father not being able to see him, and mumbled a quiet "yes." He knew what kind of thoughts currently filled his father's mind, only hours before witnessing what could only be a jumbled turn of events. While normal and expected, they had turned Katsuro into a nervous mess, and Sesshomaru, anxious to see his second child born into the world, had taken his son out to calm the nerves.

Sesshomaru glanced quickly in the direction of his son, appraising the cross in his hands at once, realized where to begin his explanation. "My father, the great Inu no Taisho, and this Sesshomaru once stood at these precise cliffs as you and I." He took a breath to calm himself before continuing. "Before his demise, this Sesshomaru seeked to posess the great dog general's powerful swords. There, son, is where I will begin our story. So that you may, in a clearer way, understand the thought process and beliefs of the Christians. However, understand that I merely relate this story to these ideologies, not to persuade you to undertake these religious beliefs as your own, but to teach and inform you of ideas and problems you will encounter on your own one day." Sesshomaru adjusted his mokomoko, which had been nuzzling his face from the sway of the wind before turning his attention back to the moon.

"My father's demise was the beginning of my own personal journey through what Christians refer to as "Hell"." Katsuro blinked quickly in surprise before interrupting his father's tale.

"Father," he started. "Haven't you traveled to Hell before? For Rin?" He questioned. "Why would Hell be some sort of idea if it's an actual place?"

Sesshomaru grunted before answering his curious son. "That is because being hopeless is a state of mind and the actions you make during life will either lead you to or away from that place. It is in a hopeless state of mind that the true nature of your inner self is revealed and what actions you take are your own to answer to." He paused to think on his son's questioning.

"Indeed, I have encountered Hell before, and the minions thereof that move a person's soul from their bodies to the afterlife. But I will begin my story simply with my journey through Hell, that came about because of my hopeless state of mind. To understand Christianity you must understand that there are sins and virtues. These factors play a deciding role in how people, humans and demon alike, consciously act and behave on a daily basis. The end result is a journey to the afterlife, whether it be in Hell, Purgatory, or Paradise." He elaborated.

Clearing his throat, he moved onto his first point. "The great Inu no Taisho once asked if this Sesshomaru had anything worth protecting." Katsuro stepped forward, closer to his father, in interest at this.

"This Sesshomaru had sought only power and glory in his youth and thus gave no interest in protecting the lives of others, only my own power." He said gruffly. "Because of this, the Inu no Taisho decided he would not bestow upon me the swords which could bequeath me great power, but instead a sword to teach this Sesshomaru what many would think me lacking, compassion." Tilting his head to check on his son's attention towards his story, he continued on.

"In Hell, son, you slowly descend to greater states of misery than those before it the lower you go. The first state, we shall call it, is named Limbo." Katsuro saved the name to memory, in case it came up later again. "I experienced this inferior form of Heaven when I learned of my great father's final demise. Those loyal only to him had scattered the lands, and those still loyal to my mother and I stayed to serve and protect the western lands alongside myself. My time as the heir to the western lands was no longer. This Sesshomaru then became the Lord of the West and has been since then." Katsuro nodded his head, having heard this piece of information before.

"To me," Sesshomaru recounted, "my foolish father's downfall was a consequential turning point in my life. The lady princess Izayoi and her half-breed son where then of little importance to me, but the sound of just their names being said in court caused my blood to boil for then unknown reasons."

"My mother, then still Lady of the West, congratulated me on my new position and title. She mourned the loss of her mate's life privately, where I only held contempt for the way my father tossed his life away because of a human female. He left to me in his will, not the swords of great power I sought, but one to teach me of humility. Delivered to me by Totosai at the great tree, Bokusensu, was the weaker fang, one that had no combative use, the Tensaiga."

Katsuro breathed a strange, silent gasp of of recognition at hearing the sword's name. He interrupted, unwittingly, his father paying no mind, and asked "But, father, is that not the sword you used to bring Rin back to life?" Katsuro wondered why on earth his father would speak of the valued sword as though he could not care less about it.

"Indeed," came Sesshomaru's response, "I saved Rin's life with the Tensaiga as well as others I will inform you of later on. But," he hissed, "I would not find use for that sword until many years after I gained its possession. Therefore my contempt for my father grew upon realizing he had bestowed upon such a useless sword as I had once thought it." Katsuro acknowledged this response and urged him to continue the tale.

"For this Sesshomaru, the position as Lord of the West was a merry event, if you could call it such. I had finally risen to my glorified throne and was now in a heavier position of power as one of the cardinal lords in Japan. For the next few decades, or centuries, I suppose, I was as close to my idea of paradise as I could be."

"I thought myself a great and honorable ruler," he said with a huff of indignity, "and sought only one thing: more power." Katsuro turned his gaze from the side of his father's face back out onto the ocean, reflecting on his words.

"This idea, this great notion that I deemed so worthy of my time and efforts is what made me realize later on I had been stuck in my own version of Limbo." Katsuro's head perked up again at hearing that word. "I was satisfied, but never satisfied. Powerful, but never powerful enough."

"With these realizations I took to a new goal, a mission if you will." Sesshomaru thought back on a time of war and strife, appreciating the stillness of the current moment. "I had once again defeated the Panther demon tribe, the very same which tried to take the western lands just centuries before from my father. The Inu no Taisho, of course, defended the West and struck down the panther king."

"Of course!" Katsuro exclaimed, excited to hear of his grandfather's accomplishments. Sesshomaru gave a low chuckle at the boy's hearty reply before returning to his tale.

"This Sesshomaru accomplished the same, and felt immense pride at how easily I had defended my lands and people.

"Throughout this time and more, I searched hungrily for my father's famed sword, the fang Tessaiga. After many years, I sought out your uncle Inuyasha, demanding he tell me the location of our late father's tomb. At the time," he recalled somberly, "I held only hatred and disgust for my half brother and all hanyou, believing them beneath me.

"Figuring he could somehow be the key to my late father's tomb, I used an unconventional, and not to mention foul, method to attack Inuyasha and find the tomb. Where I thought he would be alone and fight alone, he was not. I quickly succumbed to the onslaught of his and his partners counter attacks and fled.

"Inu no Taisho was an intelligent demon. Of that you should not doubt, my son. I found that he had hidden the entrance to his great tomb in a black pearl behind one of Inuyasha's eyes, the craft of which was cunning, indeed. The fact however, that he had placed the pearl within Inuyasha was enough to confirm the fact that his hidden fang was meant to be his, not this Sesshomaru's."

Sesshomaru paused momentarily to close his eyes and breathe in the scent of the nature around him.

"In a quite embarrassing turn of events, I was not able to garner the possession of my father's famed sword. I instead, to my shame, left wounded, missing an arm, and thinking about the young human girl who had been a hindrance of my getting to the Tessaiga. I then returned to the forest that I had just days before journeyed through and encountered a group of bandits who sought to attack me.

"After I disposed of their ragtag group," Sesshomaru smirked, "I was approached by a strange man who I later learned was Naraku in disguise. He offered me a human arm, in which a shard of the shikon jewel was embedded, that could supposedly help me wield the Tessaiga. I took his word and found Inuyasha again and challenged him once more for the sword. After another crippling battle where my new arm had again been torn off and I was left with no option, I fleed the scene once more.

"I returned to the Palace of the West to seek further knowledge and recover from my time away."

Sesshomaru sighed as he turned his whole body around to face Katsuro. "That, my son, was my personal battle with wanting more but getting less, and where I began to learn the important lesson in life, which you will later come to learn. I was stuck in my own inferior form of paradise, everything I had grown to crave but could not attain mocked me in the face of adversity. That, son, is what I would understand Limbo to be."

Katsuro shook his head not completely understanding. "Was it because of your greed?"

"No," Sesshomaru started, "though my greed and pride certainly had an existential weight upon my consequences, it is the fact that I lacked certain 'virtues' that left me ill-appeased and not at all gratified."

"So what stage is next?" Katsuro questioned. Sesshomaru pivoted back to look at the dark ocean with its heavy waves.

"The next stage is something that swayed this Sesshomaru back and forth, like the harsh waves in this ocean. A constant push and pull I could never ignore from the time I was a at least a century and a half old. Imagine being in the ocean with the harsh waves rocking your body to and fro, and no land around to keep you from going under. That is the embodiment of the restlessness of a person who is led purely by desire for the fleshly purposes.

"The next stage, my curious son, is Lust."


	2. Lust

Author's Note:

Before we continue with Sesshomaru's lessons on vices and virtues, I want to let you guys know that this story will have chapters of different sizes (word counts) due to the fact that there are some subtopics to these sins and virtues and will lead to short, drabble like collections in between the longer chapters. There will be no chronological order to Sesshomaru's tales as they are based solely on topic only. And last but not least, topics will definitely be darker in the beginning and middle of this story. We will approach 'happier' topics near the end of the story once he is on the virtues of those in heaven.

TRIGGER WARNING: References of sexual assault contained in this chapter.

•

Chapter 2: Lust

Katsuro's face turned a bold pink after his father spoke the word lust. He understood what it meant of course, but was not at all familiar with what it entailed. He was not yet expressly of age to became entangled in the pleasures of the flesh but his father had once briefly gone over the meaning of lust.

"It is quite easy to be taken by the feeling of lust," Sesshomaru stated, taking in the meek look on the boy's face. "The first encounter is never the best yet always the most intriguing. It leaves you craving more and wondering less."

"Lust, simply put, can impact your life in one of two ways: you are either completely overcome by it or affected only through certain encounters." Sesshomaru reflected on this but pressed on anyway, "This tale is not only of how lust affected my life and decisions I made, but that of others around me. To which I observed their triumphs and downfalls, their conquests and failures."

"To explain properly, I will begin with how I viewed lust before it affected me, as a young pup." Sesshomaru paced forward to the edge of the cliff and took a seat, propping his knee up to support his right arm and leaned back on his left.

"My parents were mated simply because they were both extensively powerful inu daiyoukais, and thus would be assumed to breed equally, if not more powerful, offspring. My mother always held a tender heart for my father, even when he was away traveling the lands or at war. Ever the faithful, she would treat him with love and kindness on his return home and spoke only of greatness about him. She was never bothered by him taking concubines, never batted an eye when she heard of his obsession with the human princess Izayoi. Even in his quest fueled by lust, my mother remained ever the loyal and faithful.

"She took responsibility of the shiro and oversaw those who personally trained me. Meanwhile my father was only concerned with his battles on the field and his conquests in the bedroom.

"These are two examples of how people are affected by lust. My father, in my opinion, became overwhelmed by lust and later succumbed to the consequences. However I would say these actions specifically would not exactly condemn him to hell. He possessed many attributes that you could consider virtuous. That however, is not our current topic." He grunted.

"I bring you back to the times of my youth, however now as a demon of age in court, I was expected to rut with concubines and succumb to the lust the court would assume I possessed. While I did indeed partake in the pleasure of the flesh, they did not satisfy or hold my attentions enough to deter me from my path of supreme conquest. My first encounter was one of rushed work and not at all for pleasure, but only to be done with it so that I may return to my formal training."

"I never intentionally sought to keep concubines as I was concerned only by my need for physical strength and glory. I traveled great distances across Japan and only rarely did I let lust overcome myself."

Sesshomaru paused, searching for a hint of where to start next. "Over the next few centuries, this Sesshomaru came upon various moments where he witnessed individuals overtaken by lust and how it affected them. How the different courts would gossip only of the adulterous actions of those who held high positions, the human countrymen who took the innocence of many a virgin, and the always unfaithful, searching only for the next rut."

"When your mother and I first became intimate for example," He continued, ignoring Katsuro's uncomfortable twitch. "We were not mated, nor at the time was I absolutely sure that I would in fact take her as my mate. She and I were previously enemies because of Inuyasha and because of her human heritage for a few years before we all came to a certain understanding.

"However I believed at some point that I may only have been attracted to Kagome due to strictly lustful reasons. Unlike her, I sincerely thought my attraction would be the start of my demise, much like the Inu no Taisho. How could I not, when my father's lustful attentions after a human female had ended in his untimely fall?" He pondered.

"After one encounter with your mother I briskly informed her of my opinions to which she took great offense. She introduced to me the notion of romantic ideas that included companionship and love...This Sesshomaru tried to persuade her that our encounters had been a miscalculation, a blunder, on my end, but to no avail."

Sesshomaru directed his attention to a sole bird flitting across the waterfront before proceeding. "For your mother and I, lust was a mutual indulgence we partook in before and after our mating. But son, I should warn you that lust does not always take the form of mutual indulgence. Arguably the simplest form of lust is succumbing to one's basic fleshly desires with another being. However, the foulest form of lust is best described as unbidden and undesirable attentions to those who do not seek it."

"When Rin was older and of age, I began to leave her behind more often at the shiro so that she may learn courtly etiquette and how to be a proper lady. Ever so often I would take her to Kaede's quaint village so that she may partake in human interaction and interests of the females there.

"I would take these moments to spend time with your mother, either wandering the countryside or enjoying time alone at the palace. One year, the humans seemed to be in a frenzy, scattered about like locusts in heat. For some reason I could not imagine, there seemed to be more instances of crimes throughout the country. And while I did indeed condemn these violent acts, especially in the west, I did not do everything in my power to hinder these growing rates.

"What I relay to you next, my son, is something of substantial importance. I hope that you heed my words and avoid partaking in these actions. I tell you this not to make you afraid, or to anger or sadden you. I tell this to you, son, so that you may understand grief, and why this realm needs its leaders to stand up for their rights." He waited for Katsuro confirm his understanding before moving back to the topic of importance.

"One late summer afternoon," Sesshomaru drawled, "I received word by messenger hawk from Kaede herself who informed me of one terrible thing: Rin, who had been near the fields with one other human girl from the village around her same age, had been kidnapped by a group of rough looking men." Katsuro's brow furrowed in worry as he listened to his father speak.

"I had already been on my way to take her from the village and back to the shiro, but nevertheless my instincts hurled me into a frenzy as I began my search. Being humans who had taken them, it did not take me long to come upon them. As I did however, I realized something that sparked a rage inside me. Sprawled on the muddy forest floor was Rin, her kimono being torn open by two pathetic human males, and her face awash with tears of agony. The other human girl was being beaten bloody by another man who's face I could not have been bothered to remember. These foul men's scent smelled of three things.

"The first was anger," Sesshomaru said as he clenched his jaw. "Angry as they were, they could not see through their mindless actions to register that someone else had come upon them. As I cut down the first man, who's putrefying scent was filled with fury, I felt no shame in tearing his head right off his shoulders to toss it somewhere deeper in the forest. That, is probably why I can never recall his face." He stated smugly.

"The second scent was one that made me all the more malicious at once. The fact that one of the men could not contain his glee at having captured these two girls was sickening. He held Rin's hair tightly in his fist, and to have him let go I severed both of his hands off with the use of my acid whip, and dragged him away from her before striking him down as well. I did so quickly and with urgency so I could take down the third."

"After this the final and third man's scent became overwrought with fear, but I could still smell the hint of arousal that had been permeating the air just before. This man, if he even deserves to be called such, was the epitome of what it means to succumb to the foulest version of lust. Mind you, his demeanor changed quiet abruptly at the sight of this Sesshomaru."

"However no amount of trepidation could have held me back as I approached the man who had just moments before been groping at my ward's womanly parts. I will never comprehend the audacity of some males to take a young woman by force. This Sesshomaru could only feel shame at having not protected Rin fast enough or readily enough."

Katsuro sat still and quite throughout this, absorbing the grimly description of Rin's assault.

"I can assure you," Sesshomaru continued. "That I did not show any mercy, apprehension, or empathy as cut all these men down. To me, they embodied what is called 'sin' itself, and deserved nothing but to rot in the pits of hell."

"These are the outcomes of succumbing to lust, Katsuro. Whether it be lovers who are so carried away by their passions that they see no wrong or right, or those who allow their fleshly appetites to sway their logic despite having been refused.

"For your mother and I, it was realizing that there was more than lust to our relationship, that we mutually indulged and thus became self-centered in our desire. The only flaw in that my son, was that I had for many years harbored a dislike for humankind, yet the mere presence of Rin and later on your mother had grown on this Sesshomaru. Our relationship had real virtues attached that I had at first refused to acknowledge, regardless of your mother's emotions."

"The other outcome, however, in the face of Rin's sexual assault, was that it not only left her in a state of despair, but that of self-loathing as well. She sought solace in Kagome's arms as a mother figure while I swore to better protect her in the face of adversity." Sesshomaru let out a sigh at this, a whisper of some unnamed emotion passing through him at remembering his beloved ward's tragic past.

"It took many years for Rin to become comfortable again in the presence of strangers, and many more for me to consciously be able to allow her to leave the shiro on her own. Kagome provided a deep connection to Rin for which I am deeply thankful, as they are both aware."

Sesshomaru broke his gaze from the navy tides to look upon his son once more. He noticed the look of being deep in thought on Katsuro's visage before returning to his point.

"I hope that with the telling of this story, Katsuro, that you may develop a feeling of empathy towards those who succumb to the most heinous versions of lust and realize the fallacious nature of imposing your will on others. Know that while many sins are embedded in the perversion of love, many virtues arise from it as well." Katsuro nodded his head in understanding, still processing the horrid details of Rin's past.

"As long as you understand this, my son, we will proceed onto the next sin." Katsuro nodded, willing his father to go on. Sesshomaru listened to the noise of nearby animals hunting in the forest and felt at ease with the sounds of nature around him. "In this life, there is a certain amount of discomfort to be anticipated for every person. However, for some, these discomforts are intolerable, and they submit to their inner desires.

"These are people who are much too weak-willed to wait to eat and drink, and therefore fill themselves with food before and after appropriate eating times at the cost of sharing less with others. People who excessively obsess over minor inconveniences and seek perfectionism. And those who demand far too much of another person, so much so that they continually drive them away with their unyielding expectations."

"This next sin, Katsuro, is about those who want for things in excess. The Gluttons."


End file.
